New Delhi: In a dramatic intervention in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament Kangana Ranaut took a firm stand to defend the dignity of a foreign national who became an unintended centrepiece in the ongoing debate over voter-roll integrity in India. At the same time, she launched sharp criticisms against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, taking aim at both their parliamentary conduct and the history of the party in power over decades.

Ranaut, representing the Mandi constituency, addressed the House to issue what she described as an apology to Larissa Nery, a Brazilian woman whose photograph had been displayed by opposition members during a debate on electoral reforms and voter-roll manipulation. The episode had attracted considerable attention, as the woman’s image was used to underscore allegations made by Rahul Gandhi concerning “duplicate voters” and irregularities in Haryana’s electoral rolls. Ranaut’s speech, however, framed the incident as a violation of personal rights and parliamentary decorum.

Apologising on Behalf of the House

Ranaut began her address by emphasising the importance of respecting every individual’s dignity, particularly women. “As a woman, I want to say every woman is entitled to her dignity,” she asserted, referring to the incident in which opposition MPs displayed the photograph of a woman of foreign origin in the Lok Sabha without providing evidence for their claims. According to Ranaut, the opposition’s actions constituted a clear violation of House rules as well as the personality rights of the individual concerned.

Ranaut recounted that Larissa Nery, the Brazilian woman whose image was used, had repeatedly clarified on social media that she had never been to India and had no connection to the Haryana elections. “Yet they flashed her image here without any evidence. That is a violation of personality rights. On behalf of this House, I apologise to her,” Ranaut stated, taking a position that sought to acknowledge the misuse of personal data and the public display of the woman’s image.

By issuing this apology, Ranaut underscored the principle that women’s dignity cannot be sacrificed even in the heat of political debates. She also highlighted the broader issue of misinformation and the need for political parties to substantiate their claims before presenting them in a public forum such as Parliament.

Critique of Rahul Gandhi’s Parliamentary Performance

After addressing the apology, Ranaut shifted her focus to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, whose speech on the preceding day had raised the matter of alleged large-scale irregularities in voter rolls. Gandhi, speaking in the Lok Sabha, had alleged the presence of “duplicate voters” in multiple states, including Haryana and Bihar, and had specifically referred to Larissa Nery as appearing multiple times on electoral rolls. He had accused the Election Commission of evading accountability and warned that vote manipulation constituted an anti-national act.

Ranaut criticised Gandhi for what she perceived as a lack of substantive content in his speech. “I expected a grand revelation after listening to allegations all year, but he kept speaking in metaphors about khadi, threads, and people,” she remarked. Her comments implied that Gandhi’s parliamentary rhetoric was vague and metaphorical rather than addressing the practical and legal dimensions of electoral reforms.

She further noted that while Gandhi raised questions about voter irregularities, he did not provide clear or verified evidence for the claims he made in Parliament. This, she argued, risked defaming individuals who were not part of the political discourse, using Larissa Nery’s image as a case in point.

Attacks on Congress Leadership and Historical Allegations

Ranaut did not limit her critique to Rahul Gandhi alone. She also took aim at Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the Congress general secretary, over her remark that the government should “leave the past behind.” Ranaut argued that the Congress could not escape scrutiny of its own history. She specifically cited the controversy surrounding Sonia Gandhi’s voter registration before obtaining Indian citizenship, alleging that such instances demonstrated a historical pattern of entitlement within the Gandhi family.

“This family has always been steeped in entitlement,” Ranaut said, adding that Priyanka Gandhi should remember both the past and the present. By making these remarks, she sought to juxtapose the current government’s claims of electoral integrity with what she described as historical lapses and manipulations under previous Congress-led administrations.

Ranaut also took a moment to defend Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asserting that the Prime Minister’s electoral victories were not the result of manipulation but rather of popular support and public trust. “Prime Minister Modi does not need to hack voting systems to win because he has hacked the hearts of the people,” she said, framing electoral success as a function of leadership and governance rather than administrative malpractices.

Context: Rahul Gandhi and the Voter-Roll Controversy

Rahul Gandhi’s speech on Tuesday had centred on alleged irregularities in voter rolls, particularly in Haryana, where he claimed the presence of “duplicate voters.” A key element of his argument relied on the case of Larissa Nery, whose photograph he asserted appeared 22 times on voter lists, implying a systematic failure in electoral verification. Gandhi accused the Election Commission of evading its responsibility and highlighted the lack of transparency in election administration.

Larissa Nery, a Brazilian national and hairdresser by profession, had clarified in a social media video that the photograph used by Congress leaders was taken years ago when she was about 20 years old. She stated that she was not a model and had posed in the photograph merely to help a friend. Over time, the image had been widely circulated in various publications as a representational image, unrelated to Indian electoral rolls.

The controversy over the image and its use in parliamentary proceedings highlighted the intersection of digital information misuse, political rhetoric, and individual rights, raising concerns about accountability in public discourse.

Parliamentary Decorum and Ethical Considerations

Ranaut’s speech reflected a larger concern about maintaining parliamentary decorum, especially when debates touch on sensitive issues such as voter manipulation, personal identities, and foreign nationals. By addressing the misuse of Larissa Nery’s image, Ranaut sought to reinforce the principle that even political debates should respect privacy, evidence standards, and ethical norms.

Her comments also pointed to the broader responsibility of lawmakers to avoid misrepresentation and sensationalism, particularly in cases where the reputations of individuals not directly involved in politics could be adversely affected. Ranaut’s apology, therefore, was framed not only as a personal gesture but also as a call for institutional accountability.

Political Implications

Ranaut’s intervention comes amid heightened scrutiny of electoral practices and debates over voter-list accuracy. The BJP and Congress have increasingly framed these discussions in terms of historical responsibility versus current accountability, with both sides seeking to influence public perception.

Ranaut’s emphasis on the dignity of women, adherence to parliamentary rules, and historical critique of the Congress highlights the multiple layers at play in this discourse: legal, ethical, historical, and political. By combining an apology with a pointed critique, she positioned herself as both a guardian of individual rights and a critic of opposition conduct, reinforcing the BJP’s broader narrative on electoral integrity and governance.

Conclusion

In her Lok Sabha speech, Kangana Ranaut addressed multiple issues: issuing an apology to Larissa Nery for misuse of her image, critiquing Rahul Gandhi for metaphorical and unsubstantiated parliamentary rhetoric, and highlighting historical grievances against the Congress party, including alleged voter irregularities involving the Gandhi family.

Ranaut’s remarks underscore the intersection of politics, ethics, and personal rights in parliamentary debates. They also highlight the evolving challenges faced by legislators in balancing political argumentation with evidence-based discourse, particularly when discussing sensitive topics such as voter fraud, foreign nationals, and historical electoral practices.

By addressing both contemporary and historical concerns, Ranaut’s speech exemplifies a strategic mix of apology, criticism, and political messaging, reflecting the increasingly complex dynamics of Indian parliamentary debate in the context of electoral reforms and public accountability.